December 2023
Visual Art Exhibition: Brian Edmonds
 
This program is exhibition only and does not include an opening reception or artist talk.
 
Friday, December 1 - January 25 - All Day
Friends Gallery
 
Celtic Angels Christmas
 
Celtic Angels Christmas captivates audiences with the magic of the holiday in an awe-inspiring medley of vocal and instrumental seasonal and Irish favorites along with spectacular world-class champion Irish dancing. 
 
Tickets are $38.
 
Friday, December 1 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Library Theatre
 
Neuroscience Cafe: Personalizing Brain Health
 
Ronald M. Lazar, PhD from UAB's Department of Neurology, teaches how to make healthy choices for your unique brain. 
 
Sunday, December 3 from 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Fitzgerald & Shakespeare Rooms
 
Computer Class
 
All computer classes are located in the Training Center on the Administration Level of the library. Must register to attend. Click on each date for more information and a link to register.
 
Basic Excel (2 parts)
Tuesday, December 5 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Wednesday, December 6 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
 
One-on-One Tech Help
Thursday, December 7 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Thursday, December 7 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
 
PowerPoint: Crash Course!
Monday, December 11 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
 
Intermediate Excel (2 parts)
Tuesday, December 12 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Wednesday, December 13 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
 
Canva: The Basics!
Saturday, December 16 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
 
French Conversation Club
 
Practice your French and celebrate the culture! All levels, beginner to fluent are welcome. Use what you know or expand your vocabulary with the help of our trained facilitator. Adults only, 17+ please. Call 205-444-7840 with any questions.
 
Tuesday, December 5 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Fitzgerald Room
 
Online Adult ESL Classes
 
Join us for an online version of our ESL classes. These classes meet weekly for one hour and there are beginner level and intermediate to advanced level classes available. Registration required. Call 205-444-7840 with any questions.
 
Level 1 (beginner)
 
Thursday, December 7 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Thursday, December 7 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
 
Level 2 (intermediate to advanced)
Wednesday, December 6 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am
 
Well-Made Workshop: Holiday Paper Art
 
Create gift tags and ornaments to share or display.
 
Wednesday, December 6 from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Fitzgerald & Shakespeare Rooms
 
Beyond Words Book Club
 
Read and discuss Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.
 
After Tova Sullivan's husband dies, she begins working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Over time, Tova becomes acquainted with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who knows more than anyone can imagine.
 
Attend in person or register online to attend virtually.
 
Thursday, December 7 from 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Fitzgerald Room, Zoom
 
Craft Time at Lee Branch: Holiday Fun
 
Get ready for the season with ornament crafts and gift wrap.
 
Thursday, December 7 from 10:30 am - 11:30 am
East 59 Event Room - Lee Branch
 
Board Game Test Group
 
If you are a hopeful board game designer looking to workshop ideas or have a prototype you'd like to playtest, then join us on select Thursday nights this fall. This meetup is also a great opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals in the board game community. No registration required!
 
Thursday, December 7 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Library Plaza
 
Vintage Videos: A Christmas Carol
 
Crotchety miser Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas and mistreats his long-suffering employee, devoted family man Bob Cratchit. But a visit from the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and three Christmas spirits might convince him to change his ways and become more kindhearted. 
 
Directed by: Edwin L. Marin
Starring: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart and Leo G. Carroll
Runtime: 69 minutes
 
Friday, December 8 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm
The Library Theatre
 
Insatiable Readers Book Club
 
Feed your need for nonfiction titles and bookish conversations by bringing your own book and share your favorites. 
 
Saturday, December 9 from 10:30 am - 1:00 pm
Fitzgerald Room
 
Purl on the Plaza
 
Join old friends and make new ones at this crafty meeting of all fiber enthusiasts. We love to see anyone with a portable craft such as knitting, crochet, tatting, embroidery or other fiber crafts.
 
Saturday, December 9 from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Library Plaza
 
Online Insatiable Readers Book Club
 
Feed your need for nonfiction titles and bookish conversations by bringing your own book and share your favorites. 
 
Saturday, December 9 from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Online Program
 
NovelTea Book Club
 
Read and discuss Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou.
 
Twenty-nine-year-old PhD student Ingrid Yang is desperate to finish her dissertation on the late canonical poet, Xiao-Wen Chou, and never read about "Chinese-y" things again. But after four years of painstaking research, she has nothing but anxiety and stomach pain to show for her efforts. When she accidentally stumbles upon a strange and curious note in the Chou archives, she convinces herself it's her ticket out of academic hell.
 
Sunday, December 10 from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Fitzgerald & Shakespeare Rooms
 
Helping Hands
 
Teen and adult volunteers can drop in to roll newspapers for the humane society.
 
Monday, December 11 from 3:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Adult Program Room
 
Spanish Conversation Club
 
All levels, from beginner to fluent, are welcome to practice their Spanish. Use what you know or expand your vocabulary with the help of our trained facilitator. Some prior experience with the language is recommended. Adults only, 17+ please.
 
Tuesday, December 12 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Fitzgerald Room
 
Menorah Lighting
 
Celebrate Hanukkah with the lighting of the Menorah. 
 
Wednesday, December 13 from 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Library Entrance Lobby
 
Sam Pointer's Acoustic Christmas
 
Hear light-hearted acoustic versions of the best holiday songs, played in an intimate setting by a top-notch band of Alabama artists. 
 
Wednesday, December 13 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Library Theatre
 
A, B, C and Ds of Medicare
 
Get simple and straightforward answers at this workshop with Karen Haiflich. 
 
Thursday, December 14 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Fitzgerald & Shakespeare Rooms
 
Ugly Sweater Holiday Party
 
Celebrate National Ugly Sweater Day at this after-hours program! Play minute-to-win-it table games, enjoy a cup of hot cocoa with your favorite fixings and compete in an ugly sweater contest judged by none other than the Grinch at this fun-tastic adults-only event.
 
Friday, December 15 from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Library Plaza
 
Write Club: Holiday Social
 
A year's worth of Write Club is in the books! Celebrate our 2023 writing journey by bringing your favorite snack to share.
 
Saturday, December 16 from 10:30 am - 1:00 pm
Fitzgerald & Shakespeare Rooms
 
Board Game Swap Meet
 
Are your board game shelves getting a bit crowded? Are you looking for a new-to-you treasure? Bring in your gently used board games to the library and swap with other enthusiasts!
 
Saturday, December 16 from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Library Plaza
 
Pen & Paper RPG Society
 
At the Pen & Paper RPG Society meetings, you create larger than life heroes and join forces with fellow gamers as you adventure through dungeons, haunted tombs and forgotten regions of space. Let us show you a new, exciting hobby! No experience needed!
 
Sunday, December 17 from 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Library Plaza
 
Now Showing: Encanto
 
The tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super strength to the power to heal - every child except one, Mirabel. She discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope.
 
Runtime: 99 minutes
 
Monday, December 18 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Monday, December 18 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Library Theatre
 
Stories of Exile Presents African Town with Authors Irene Latham and Charles Waters
 
The last book in the Stories of Exile Book Club series is African Town, a story about the journey of 110 captured Africans brought to Mobile, Alabama, on the last slave ship, Clotilde. Enjoy an evening in discussion with authors Irene Latham and Charles Waters as they share the inspiration for their young-adult novel-in-verse, and talk about the incredible writing journey that brought them face-to-face with the living descendants of those 110 exiles.
 
Livestream this event on the Hoover Library Facebook and YouTube pages.
 
Tuesday, December 19 from 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Shakespeare Room
 
Crayon Ornaments
 
Use crayon shavings to create a unique design inside glass ball ornaments. 
 
Wednesday, December 20 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Theatre Conference Room
 
Hoover Library Winter Spectacular
 
Sing along with your favorite staff during this winter-themed variety show!
 
Wednesday, December 20 from 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm
Wednesday, December 20 from 6:30 pm - 7:15 pm
The Library Theatre
 
Stories of Exile Book Club
 
Read and discuss African Town by Irene Latham and Charles Waters.
 
In 1860, long after the United States outlawed the importation of enslaved laborers, 110 captured Africans were brought to Mobile, Alabama, on the last slave ship, Clotilde, where they made desperate attempts to maintain their culture and also fit into the place of captivity to which they'd been delivered.
 
At the end of the Civil War, the survivors created a community for themselves they called African Town, which still exists to this day. This powerful historical novel-in-verse recreates a pivotal moment in US and world history, the impacts of which we still feel today.
 
Livestream this event on the Hoover Library Facebook and YouTube pages.
 
Thursday, December 21 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Fitzgerald Room
 
Hoover Public Library
200 Municipal Drive
Hoover, Alabama 35216
(205) 444-7800

www.hooverlibrary.org